[Sca-cooks] mezze

[Stephanie Ross]

>From http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/FOOD_IS_ART/mideast/mid_meal.html

"A typical middle eastern meal starts with Mezze. This can be an elaborate
spread of forty or fifty hors d'oeuvres, little bits of tasty treats to
please the palate.

The origin of the word mezze is unclear. It may be derived from the Persian
"maza" meaning "taste, relish," or from the Arabic "mazmiz" which means to
nibble at food. Either way is represents the pleasure of savoring little
pieces of food. The mezze tradition extends from Turkey into the Balkans,
including Greece, and spreads to Middle east countries. Almost anything
that is small and tasty qualifies as a mezze dish. A basic mezze table can
be as simple as a basket of warm pita, a plate of fresh herbs, another
plate of feta cheese or yogurt cheese, a dish of olives, some dips and
salads and a pitcher of iced water. You can also find hummus, a dip made of
ground chickpeas, fattoush, a salad of green vegetables mixed with pieces
of pita bread, grilled eggplant and zucchini. Other popular dishes are
tabouli, a bulgur wheat salad, and kibbeh, made from freshly ground lamb
and/or beef - a dish which can be eaten baked, fried or even raw. Mezze can
include miniature versions of main dishes. To give a mezze table the status
of a mezze feast, simply increase the number and variety of dishes,
including perhaps a few heartier choices like small kebabs or one or two
bean dishes that can be served cold."


Well isn't that interesting! It sounds to me like the zakuska table could
be traced through _Byzantium_ back to ancient Persia. That is definitely a
way that the concept of mezze could come to Russia. Even the words have
similar meanings - zakushka means "little bites".  Perhaps mezze came with
Orthodox priests into Russia? Byzantium had a major impact on Russia on all
aspects of life, even down to the peasant level via the religion. Why
wouldn't native Russians have copied the foodways as well? Does anyone know
if mezze was popular in Constantinople and Eastern Rome during the Middle
Ages? 


~Aislinn~
hoping that this topic doesn't hit a brick-wall like sarafans do...

"The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the
first and only legitimate object of good government." --Thomas Jefferson to
Maryland Republicans, 1809.